Why Is the Global Economy Still Relying on Child Labor?

In 2012, approximately 21 million people worked in forced labor worldwide, including in industrialized nations like the United States. More than one quarter of these people were children. Overall, 215 million children labor worldwide, half of them in dangerous industries, often without adequate employment and workplace protections.

While the United States might have officially ended slavery with the Civil War, slavery, forced labor and related exploitative labor practices endure across the world, including in the U.S. In fact, the use of such practices has actually increased worldwide in recent years. What’s going on? Why is the global economy so heavily reliant on forms of labor that should have gone out with the dodo?

The answer to this troubling question is a complex one that lies in part in the demand for cheap, readily-available goods across the West. Companies rallying to meet this demand are also driven by internal pressures for profit, with demands from their boards and shareholders. Their desire to profit at all costs mean that they cut corners when it comes to sourcing, protecting their workers, monitoring working conditions and ensuring that their products are produced without the use of slave, forced, child and other kinds of exploitative labor.

Groups like the International Labor Organization that are concerned with the use of exploitative labor in the U.S. are attempting to address it with tools like a free program for businesses that want to commit to sourcing their labor more responsibly, but they aren’t making much headway. They’re going up against a complex and interconnected system that pits business against children and workers from marginalized populations like ethnic and cultural minorities.

Complying with the standards involved in ensuring that a supply chain remains free of exploitative labor and the use of children means careful monitoring and high levels of transparency. It also requires giving up some profits, something many companies are reluctant to do — after all, many relocate specifically to the Global South in order to evade oversight and increase profits thanks to lower labor costs and other operating costs.

The only way to change the culture of labor is to increase pressure on companies to do the right thing by their workers. Members of the public can push for slave and child labor-free goods, demanding products produced ethically, but this requires a functional and accurate system for identifying and certifying products, to prevent companies from simply claiming that their products meet standards when this is not in fact the case.

Another, and potentially far more effective, mechanism for getting children out of the workforce and into school where they belong is the application of shareholder activism. In shareholder activism, individuals and groups buy up blocks of shares and coordinate together to vote on key issues when a company brings them to shareholders for the vote. They can force people off the board, elect representatives who will promote their interests and force a company to behave with more integrity and accountability.

This kind of activism can require deep pockets, especially for multinationals, but it can be a profound way to send a message. As one company begins to establish a more responsible industry standard and customers turn to it, competitors will be forced to do the same, even if it means a drop in profits. That can create a snowball effect of change, and make the world safer for children.

Not sure about how much this affects you personally? Use the Slavery Footprint tool to get a grim and personal look at how many slaves work for you. Enter some details about your habits and lifestyle, and it will provide information about the kinds of people involved in the production of the goods and services you use.

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64 comments

The American multinationals and their banister mates are the driving force behind child labour as its these same criminals who indulge in child sacrifices to Satan rituals using children who suddenly disappear without a trace. Wake up and see what is really going on dont believe what the media tell you to believe just do your own research.

Why don't people cut down on the number of children they have! In Africa the majority of rural blacks believe that the more children you have the better chance the parents have of being looked after in their old age. The breeding for the sake of the proving that you are a man drops significantly in communities when the women are educated.

Some developed countries have a negative growth rate and the middle of the road countries like South Africa, could help support the first two children of a married couple and then make them get sterilized. African countries are growing at an incredible rate, even though they have families that cannot feed the children they already have; and that does not take into account the AIDS orphans.

But then what should be done and what will be done are world's apart, considering someone like Jacob Zuma, the so called president of South Africa, who has nearly 20 wives and who knows how many children.

We have laws that children cannot work past a certain hr. since they have homework, they cannot do certain jobs because of safety! But these jobs need to be checked! comanies tha do not abide by this need to shut their doors! CHILD LABOR IS OUT!

Because they can. Congress is not doing enough to stop this crisis. Many take advantage of the same loopholes. How can we make a change when you have top designers and politicians using these children? We live in a country where it is OK to break the law as long as you don't get caught. And when you do all you get is a slap on the wrist. Shameful!